MDWFP - See Visit

MDWFP's Mississippi Museum of Natural Science is located in Jackson, Mississippi, tucked within historic LeFleur's Bluff State Park.

The Museum's vast expanses of glass overlook a 300-acre natural landscape, an open-air amphitheater, and 2.5 miles of nature trails, plus an outdoor Dinosaur Trail.

Inside, meet over 200 living species in our 100,000 gallon aquarium network and explore 73,000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibits which include deer, waterfowl, fossils, and Mississippi's endangered species.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Displays of Mississippi's diverse habitats including a spectacular exhibit of white-tailed deer
An entire wall of fossil specimens, Zygorhiza, Mosasaurus, and a giant Sloth
A 100,000-gallon aquarium network housing over 200 living species
"The Swamp": a 1,700-square foot greenhouse
The Dinosaur Trail: Nestled along one of the museum’s nature trails, you can see six large-scale, 3-D dinosaur models, including a Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Chasmosaurus, Nodosaurus, Appalachiosaurus, and an Eotrachodon with nest and newly hatched babies.
The hands-on Preschool Discovery Room features colorful murals and an iconic, giant treehouse with a slide! Children ages 3 through pre-kindergarten 5 can climb a tree, play with puppets, visit animal habitats, and listen to wonderful stories.
The LeFleur's Bluff Playground: a state-of-the-art 30,000-square-foot playground separated into different play areas based on age, for children ages 6 months to 12 years old, with 80 play activities, 73 of which are inclusive to children with accessibility needs.
The Dragonfly gift shop
Dragonfly Environmental Learning Center: an educational area including a pair of classrooms where visiting groups may schedule appointments for fascinating hands-on programs and meet live animals.
Rotwein Theater: a 200-seat audiovisual facility where visitors can view a variety of presentations
A safe storage environment for the museum's biological archives - a vast collection accessed regularly by scientist around the world!

Each year, more than 100,000 visitors are inspired by the natural world showcased in the Museum's permanent and special exhibits. We encourage you to share your time between the indoor exhibits and the outdoor environment, moving between informative indoor models and their reality in a natural Mississippi setting.

A range of nature trails meander through wooded bluffs, river bottoms, lakes, and scenic swamplands, offering ample and diverse opportunities for nature walks, photography, and the study of living things in their natural landscape.

The Museum also hosts numerous award-winning annual events including NatureFEST, Family Fun Science Night, Fossil Road Show, Snake Day, Park After Dark, and more. Click here for the events calendar.

Our education team provides special programs for scouts and teachers and also coordinates the museum's popular summer camps.

Mission Statement

The Museum's mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of Mississippi's biological diversity through collections, research, scientific databases, education, and exhibits; and to inspire the people of our state to respect the environment and to preserve natural Mississippi.

History

Established in 1932, the Museum was essentially born out of its founder Fannye Cook's passion for collecting and studying Mississippi's natural world and has continued to grow under the direction of strong leadership through the years.

The museum's history has always been inextricably linked to a devotion to studying and preserving the state's natural resources.

The efforts of over 80 years of study are assembled in the museum's vast scientific collections, housed in a safe-storage environment in order to better preserve the specimens.

Our collections currently consist of more than 880,000 specimens, representing the largest single reference for Mississippi vertebrate animals and freshwater mussels in existence!

Accreditation

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and a member of the Association of Science - Technology Centers, the MDWFP Museum of Natural Science is a credible learning institution and a recognized attraction offering membership benefits.

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